Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1887-09-14

straight up IN the air like mast and
swelled it up as big as q sausage;. then he
clawed the baby down the nose twice, and
how the little darling yeli ed. Then he
turned and sank his claws into the pretty
sisters ankle and she shrieked and tainted,
and before you could say scat, Mr. Grim
akin shot around the parlor twice, knocked
every thing fragile off the mantel and
brackets, lifted up his voice in roar that
seemed impossible from such
small catkin, and was two blocks
away, smooth as silk, rubbing him
self against another baby, trying to mako
friends and get in with the family. And
in loss than no time that poor little baby
lay on his back, shrieking himself black in
the face, with a ''tit, tat, toe" table
scratched across his check, his French
bonne bowling for help in Irish and trying
to climb tree, and every body else in the
house bowling "Msd cat! mad cat!" And
then on to the next house.
By high noon the sacred cause of reform
was running like a scared rabbit and gain
ing strength at every corner. There
wasn't baby in town allowed to stroke a
cat roughly. The softest cushion aud the
best sofa in the house wasn't too good for
a cat, and Mr.. Grimalkin's heart was glad.
"Pll teach those people how to treat dumb
animals" he said, in a terrible growl.
But about three O'Clock the report got
around that a mad cat had bitten all the
cats in the town, and an indisciminate
slaughter of the mousers commenced. Mr..
Grimalkin first heard of it while he
was nosing around In an alley hunting
for something to eat. A policeman saw
him and shot at him with revolver. Mr..
Grimalkin, not knowing the policeman
was shooting at him, stood still aud looked
on. "Now," said he to himself, "what did
that peeler want to shoot that poor COW
for!" as the stricken animal roared with
pain. The next shot brought down tele-
graph messenger boy at the other end Of
the alley. ''That's the first time that boy
ever did any thing in q hurry" said Mr..
Grimalkin. Then the policeman shot q
hen in neighboring lot and sent another
bullet whizzing through the windows of a
street car; then he shot himself in the
foot, and by that time his ammunition was
exhausted.
AS MIR. Grimalkin was the only thing in
the alley that hadn't been hit, it now
dawned upon him that the policeman was
shooting at him. He feared that
same boy might happen along with
stone in his hand, "and them"
thought he, "I am a dead cat.n
He ran into a barn and lay concealed all
day, only rushing out once or twice when
he saw good chance to scare a child.
And all day long the work of destruction
went on among the innocent cats. They
were shot and stoned, and hunted with
dogs and drowned. 1t was hard lines on
the cats in whose interest Mr.. Grimalkin
had embarked so unselfshly in the sacred
cause Of reform. They wished-espaciaily
those who were drowned in horse buckets
that there had never been any reform.
BY sunset there We're very few cats left in
that town for the babies to maui. Several
men with pitchforks and shotguns came
into the barn where Mr.. GrimaIkin was
hiding. Hes in here" said one of them
who was leading e bulldog; 81 saw him
come in about three or four hours ago;
he's the strange cat that Brubner's boy
brought home and nigh about killed Brub-
ner's baby. Hunt him out, Tigo."
MIR. Grimalkin was a scared cat. He
gave mighty shout, and as tho day of
cat-hood fer which he had so earnestly
wished was now at an end, he resumed his
own person and stood there before the as
tonished hunters. In reply to their eager
questions as to how he came to be in that
barn, ho said he came in to look for that
cat. The men were little incredulous,
however, and by the next morning it was
al over town that old Mr.. Grimalkin had
been on a bowling sproc, and had been
found dead drunk in Hayseed'S barn. As
be had not beou seen all day and could
give no satisfactory account of himself,
the story was generally believed. After
that, when the good old man would re-
prove people for permitting their children
to treat dumb animals with thoughtless
cruelty, the parents would look sad and
wise, and sigh deeply, and say that if
they never did any thing worse than play
a little roughly with kitten, they would
make nobody's heart ache.
Thus do we see, Ceildren, how true IL is
that the way of the reformer is hard: that
with the best of intentions he NAV some
times add to the woes of those whom nc
desires to help, and will bring down upon
his benevolent head tho fury of the op-
presser and the hatred of the oppressed.
Ii you set out to save your country with
unselfsh zeal, lool. out for abuse from both
sides. The next generation may rise up
and call you blessed; this one will sit
down-and on you at that-and all you
cussed. as not this the world that we did
tell thee in Egypt, saying, let us alone
that we may serve the Egyptians? For il
had been better for us to serve the Ecvp.
tians than that we should die in the wilder.
ness."-Durdette, in brooklyn EagIe.